Legendary driver Jan Lammers drives his memorable Lotus Type 79 at Hethel

Lotus Type 79

Andretti’s championship car

Ahead of the 15th round of the 2025 F1 season, the Dutch Grand Prix, former F1 driver Jan Lammers visited the Lotus test track in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, where he will be driving the legendary Lotus Type 79 F1 car for the first time in 46 years.

Mario Andretti won the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in a Type 79 driven by Lammers. That season, Andretti won six races, taking the Drivers’ Championship and Lotus the Constructors’ Championship. The following year, in 1979, Lammers himself tested the Type 79 with the aim of joining Lotus.

Lammers will be given a warm welcome at Hethel as part of the Lotus family, with several of his former mechanics and engineers on hand to help him, and a Type 79 in the iconic black and gold John Player Special livery, driven by Andretti in 1978, will be prepared for him.

Ground effects perfected with Type 79

Lotus has pioneered numerous technological innovations in F1, many of which remain essential elements of modern F1 cars. In 1957, they introduced the sequential gearbox, in 1966 they integrated the engine as a stressed member of the chassis, in 1979 they introduced the rear diffuser, and in 1981 they debuted the first carbon fiber monocoque in F1. Lotus was also the first to feature sponsor logos on their cars, a now-common practice.

Among the many technological innovations achieved by Lotus, the most important is the so-called “ground effect” technology, which was first introduced in the Type 78 and perfected in the Type 79. Ground effect accelerates the airflow underneath the car, creating an effect that “sucks” the car to the road surface.

The Type 79 debuted in the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix, where Andretti won. He went on to win five more races, giving Lotus a double title. Andretti won the Dutch Grand Prix, with teammate Ronnie Peterson coming second, giving Lotus a one-two finish.

Lammers drives a Type 79 for the first time in 46 years

Jan Lammers was given the opportunity to test a Type 79 at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France on October 24th and 25th, 1979. The car he was given was the 1979 version, painted in Lotus Green with a Martini livery. Lammers was given the opportunity to test with the aim of becoming a Lotus factory driver, but the seat had already gone to Italian driver Elio de Angelis.

Together with Clive Chapman, owner of Classic Team Lotus and son of Colin Chapman, Lammers reminisced about his first drive in the Type 79. Clive had carefully preserved his handwritten notes from the 1979 Paul Ricard test. Lammers took a stroll down memory lane as he completed laps in the John Player Special Type 79.

In addition to the Type 79, Lammers also drove the latest fully electric super sports car, the Evija. The world’s most powerful mass-produced BEV, with a maximum output of 2,039 PS, also left a deep impression on Lammers. After completing his test drives of the Type 79 and the Evija, Lammers shared his impressions as follows:

“It’s really great to be reunited with everyone at Lotus. We met during both my time in F1 and the GT program. The fact that the F1 cars that dominated the Grand Prix at the time and the fully electric super sports car, the Lotus Evija, are comparable in performance and handling speaks volumes about the evolution of the automotive industry as a whole.”